Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Milwaukee Brewers enter their series against the St. Louis Cardinals with a commanding division lead but face growing fan frustration over certain underperformers.
- Key players have struggled to meet expectations, raising questions about their roles as the trade deadline approaches and the postseason looms.
- The decision on which disappointing names to move could shape Milwaukee's playoff chances and define their deadline strategy.
The Milwaukee Brewers come into Monday's series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals with a 55-33 record, six games ahead of second-place Chicago in the division — and 7.5 games ahead of third-place St. Louis. While this series alone will not change the standings, it's important for Milwaukee to keep its foot on the gas pedal heading into All-Star Weekend. The NL Central is still the most competitive division in baseball right now.
It's hard to complain about the state of the Brewers' roster after another quiet offseason of patience and internal growth. No team develops talent and wins on the margins more consistently. Even the Freddy Peralta trade, which felt like a letdown in the moment, has swung rather quickly in Milwaukee's favor.
For these few underperforming Brewers, however, fans are getting antsy — and the front office could be searching for upgrades ahead of the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline.
RHP Joel Kuhnel
Milwaukee acquired Joel Kuhnel in a fairly low-stakes trade last month, but in his sixth MLB season, the 31-year-old reliver has never quite found his footing. He closed a lot of games for the A's early in the season, posting a 4.21 ERA across 25.2 innings. While there was not much to get excited about on the surface, Milwaukee almost always gets the benefit of the doubt when it comes to pitching acquisitions. Just look at Kyle Harrison.
Kuhnel, however, has done little to reward the team's faith. He has allowed nine hits (four home runs) and seven earned runs (6.52 ERA) in 9.2 innings. On Sunday, he landed on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder injury.
Although he's 31, Kuhnel is still pre-arbitration and under club control for the foreseeable future. This was not necessarily a boom-or-bust, short-term investment. Kuhnel has not earned much patience with Brewers fans so far, though.
INF Joey Ortiz
Joey Ortiz was a major piece of the Corbin Burnes trade with Baltimore. On the surface, he's an extremely Brewers-coded player — and he's not without his strengths as a versatile defender who excels at both third base and shortstop. He's also a smart, twitchy base-runner who can irritate the opposing pitcher. He's still at or above replacement level this season (0.1 fWAR) despite producing basically nothing at the plate.
That said, it's hard to trust Ortiz to do much of anything in a playoff series. He has a .551 OPS and 57 wRC+. His strikeout rate (18.3 percent) is solid, but it has crept up considerably from where it stood a year ago (14.6 percent). He does not generate power. He has two home runs in 186 at-bats this season.
Too often, Milwaukee's ability to hit for contact and win on the margins, with smart base-running and elite defense, has fallen flat in the playoffs. Their regular-season dominance just does not translate. Oritz's shortcomings are endemic to the Brewers' style of baseball and probably mean he's strictly a 162-game player. Even still, it's getting dicey this season.
OF Blake Perkins
Milwaukee entered this season with lower expectations than usual and, in keeping with recent tradition, vastly outperformed them. Blake Perkins has stuck around for four years now, contributing mostly with above-average defense in center field and elite speed on the bases. In 2024, he recorded 10 outs above average (95th percentile) and a career-high 23 stolen bases.
His role dwindled last season, however, and Perkins has once again be relegated to spot starts and pinch-running duties in 2026. He's the worst hitter on Milwaukee's roster (.508 OPS and 45 wRC+) and he hasn't made up for it in the field (-1 outs above average in limited exposure).
There is a place in the league for specialty players like Perkins, who in specific matchups and situations can still provide the Brewers with a momentary edge. But even so, there are better options in that very specific role, especially given Milwaukee's farm depth and abundance of speedy, plus-plus defenders.
OF Sal Frelick
Sal Frelick is probably the most disappointing Brewer so far this season. He was critical to their 2025 renaissance, if we can even call it that, posting a career-best .756 OPS with 12 home runs and 19 stolen bases. He was also an elite defensive right fielder (seven outs above average), building upon his Gold Glove campaign in 2024 while upping his production at the plate.
The formula hasn't changed much. Frelick, in many ways, is the quintessential Brewer. He hardly ever strikes out. Hard contact was never his strong suit, but an improved ability to elevate and drive balls into the outfield gaps allowed him to showcase his electric speed and smarts on the base paths.
Those improvements are nowhere to be found in 2026. He's slumping to a career-worst .641 OPS and 80 wRC+. He's the only regular Brewers starter with a negative fWAR (-0.1), meaning he's a below replacement level player at the moment.
Milwaukee is not (and should not) giving up on the 26-year-old lefty, but knowing how past Brewers seasons have ended, it's fair to wonder of his power-void approach can translate to October and is worth investing regular at-bats in.
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